Effects of Supplemental Various Levels of Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine Complex on the Growth Performance, Immunity, Serum Traits and Meat Quality of Simulated Taiwan Country Chickens

摘要

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of different dosages of Chinese traditional herbal complex medicine supplementation on the growth performance, immunity, serum traits and meat quality of simulated Taiwan country chickens, so as to determine the feasibility of antibiotic replacement. Two hundred (1 day-old) of the simulated Taiwan country chickens, allotted to 5 groups with 4 replicates were supplemented with 0, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7% Chinese traditional herbal medicine (CHM) and antibiotics (oxytetracycline 100 ppm). Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the 14 weeks of the experiment. Experimental results showed that both average daily weight gain and feed/gain ratio in the 0.3% CHM group to be better than in the control group (P 0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated the positive effects of supplementation Chinese traditional herbal complex medicine to simulated Taiwan country chickens’ diet, with a supplement of 0.3% CHM allowing for these positive effects.